Sunday, January 1, 2017

Hamari Basti is a community platform for exchanging local stories of struggle,
innovation and sustainable survival in Delhi’s unorganized and informal
settlements. We start with neighbourhoods like Trilokpuri (east Delhi) and
Jamia Nagar (southeast Delhi), which are densely populated localities in
the outskirts of Delhi that are flooded with migrants from nearby and faraway
regions. While there are many reasons for people specifically migrating into
these regions, many of them are Muslim as they either don’t find homes for rent
or purchase in more mainstream localities, or simply feel safer here in the
growing communal atmosphere of India. The localities however have limited space
and are now bursting due to overpopulation. There is no restriction on construction,
and hardly any planning or civic sense among the residents due to a relative
lack of education. The government authorities too have neglected the area on
infrastructure due to various reasons.

The migration, however, continues to swell the population,
not only putting more pressure on the resources, but also creating socially
harmful elements that make the locality extremely chaotic and unhealthy to live
in. A dominant Islamic identity and prolific religious practice creates the
overall picture of a so-called Muslim ghetto. Religious preachers and local
politicians mobilize the community on its religious identity, and never
introduce any idea of social change or reform. The nearby university, rather
than playing any role of social uplifment, only helps in further deterioration.
Thus, the locality today is civic nightmare to live in.

The residents have hardly any hope or expectation from the
govt. authorities or religious/political leaders to do anything constructive or
initiate any new ideas that could transform the place. But, can some
progressive individuals take initiatives to bring some fresh ideas here? For
example, can the youth be motivated or mobilized towards (a) creating awareness
about their rights and obligations as citizens of Delhi and India, (b) developing
work skills and finding employment opportunities in the area, (c) creating
community spaces where people could meet, share their problems and find some
respite, etc.

Some of us (residents) would like to start an initiative or
experiment where some of the above ideas could be tested. We wish to begin by
meeting regularly (weekly or fortnightly) in groups that are not very big, and
comprise of professionals in various fields (law, social work, media, health,
education etc.) to see what small steps can be taken to address some of the
local issues. We invite you to be a part of this initiative and tell us how you
would like to participate.

1 comment:

There is such a need for such spaces in the era of 'corporatized' media, food, public spaces. Today I saw a fascinating and inspiring Ted Talk by a French artist who goes to conflict regions and poor communities around the world, takes pictures and posts posters on walls about people, their stories involving communities in these projects - from Palestine, Israel to Kenya, India, Brazil, France, USA. Huge posters on the wall from enlarged photos.